Replacement of I-95 overpass in Norwalk causes traffic delays

Kalleen Rose Ozanic

NORWALK — As work begins to replace a burned-out bridge that carried Fairfield Avenue over Interstate 95 in Norwalk, motorists in the area are stuck in bottlenecked traffic back to Route 7, officials said. 

Barriers placed at the work zone on I-95 have narrowed the highway's lanes, causing delays on both I-95 and Route 7 and onto East Avenue, said DOT spokesperson Samia Hernandez and state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk.

The Fairfield Avenue bridge was demolished in May after a three-vehicle crash caused a fuel tanker to catch fire underneath the bridge and rendered it structurally unsafe.

While Norwalkers, commuters and travelers on I-95 and the surrounding area must cope with the delays, they can expect improvement to traffic flow when the barriers are removed by mid-September, at the latest, Duff and Hernandez said.

The barriers blocking the highway shoulders allow CDOT crews to work safely and efficiently, Hernandez said  — enough that they're on schedule to have the barriers removed some time in August if there are no delays, she said. The September cutoff is a more conservative deadline, she said.

The update comes less than a month after DOT announced that a final design for the new bridge was completed on June 1. The new bridge should be complete by spring 2025, DOT said last month.

“To accelerate this emergency bridge replacement project, it was necessary for crews to utilize highway lanes for essential work to the pier and the abutment of the structure,” Hernandez said Tuesday.

Fully reopening the highway shoulders without barriers from Route 7 to I-95 without barriers will allow traffic to flow more smoothly from Route 7 to I-95, Hernandez said.

Alleviating traffic backlog and opening the on-ramp is “definitely a priority,” the spokesperson said. Duff agreed, and said that Norwalkers and others passing through the work are frustrated by the traffic jams — himself included.

“Every time I go over a bridge, whether it's on East Avenue or Strawberry Hill, you just look over and you can see the traffic that is just backed up,” Duff said. “It's not good for the environment. It's not good for people's time.”

And while Norwalkers, Nutmeggers, and Duff would like traffic alleviated quickly, he emphasized the importance of DOT worker safety, especially following the death of 26-year-old worker Andrew DiDomenico when a driver charged with driving under the influence struck him last month.

“The barriers are there, rightfully, to keep the workers safe,” Duff said. “But they're (DOT) obviously very aware and cognizant of the traffic and the delays.”

Worker safety is the top priority, Duff said. He has been communicating with DOT to understand the reconstruction timeline to communicate better with the public, he said.

But his following priorities are making sure the bridge is reconstructed quickly and that the public understands the process, Duff said. In fact, Duff reported the updated timeline to Instagram Monday.

“The bridge reconstruction on I-95 in Norwalk because of the fire this spring continues to be a major inconvenience,” he said in the post.

DOT expects the bridge replacement to cost $15 million, the department said in a statement last month. With demolition and repair work in May, the total cost of the project will be approximately $20 million, the statement said.

Meriden gets help to fix 1870s dam at Merimere Reservoir leaking 600,000 gallons a day

Mary Ellen Godin

MERIDEN — City, state and federal officials Monday announced $3.2 million in federal funding to repair a reservoir dike that is leaking 600,000 gallons of water a day and likely to get worse without intervention.

City Public Works and administration officials a year ago, sent urgent requests for help to U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Chris Murphy and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th, to address the accelerating corrosion at the 150-year old dam.

On Monday, Blumenthal joined city Mayor Kevin Scarpati at the Merimere Reservoir to announce the funding. The Merimere Reservoir is one of four within the city's boundaries and at times provides half the city's drinking water, officials said. 

"This is something that is a longtime coming," Scarpati said. "We've been monitoring this since the leak was discovered in 2001. The way in which we structure our budget, if we didn't have the funding, our rate payers would have to pay for it. Our rate payers are already seeing increases from other infrastructure projects in the city." 

The leaks were first discovered in 2001 and have been patched and caulked throughout the years. But the Merimere Dike flow increase was noted in 2021. So, the Merimere Water Division contracted with an engineering firm to verify how significant it was. The engineers' examination estimated that 600,000 gallons of seepage flows over one of the plates every day.

The evaluation to reduce the seepage revealed the water is finding its way through two different types of rock formations below the concrete core of the dike, according to acting Public Works Director Rober Peter. It is contained in the intended channel, made of rip rap, that feeds the western ponds of Hubbard Park and eventually contributes to Crow Hollow Brook along West Main Street.   

"The reason we're here is because of the city's request, an increasingly urgent request," Blumenthal said. "This dam is an old one, 1870 was a good year, but everything ages in physical structures. Meriden is losing water, is losing money. It's also an important natural resource that is squandered especially on a day like today."

He added the project was "extremely important."

"We want to make sure the rate payers and taxpayers are not stuck with repairing for the dam that is 150 years old," he said. "Make sure the dam is repaired and corrected. I don't know of any dam in Connecticut that is leaking in this magnitude."

Peter said the damn is in a valley between Castle Craig and another outcrop of basalt rock. The cracks are in the substrate and a challenge to repair.

The department will be looking at a different kind of caulk that holds longer. Receiving the money will allow the department to continue to fix other infrastructure breakdowns in the city, and investigate other dams that need repair, he said. 

"The worries about the funding are relieved," Peter said. "We're happy the funds will match up with our preliminary scope."

Stonington approves $80 million Pawcatuck movie theater project

Carrie Czerwinski

Stonington ― The Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a site plan and master plan amendment that permits the redevelopment of the former Hoyt’s/Regal Cinema property in Pawcatuck.

The approvals will allow READCO of Old Lyme, recently acquired by Trio Properties LLC of Glastonbury, to begin construction of its estimated $70-million to $80-million mixed-use project on the Route 2 property.

The project, to be called Pawcatuck Farms, will include a 30,000-square-foot medical facility as well as a large recreational pickleball complex near the intersection of Liberty Street and Voluntown Road. Other outdoor recreational areas could include such amenities as a pool, playground, dog park and basketball courts.

READCO, which has owned the property since 1995, built the theater there along with a Stop & Shop supermarket, McDonald’s restaurant, bank and Stonington Medical Center offices.

The site is being developed as a Neighborhood Design District, a floating zone that requires a master plan for the site and provides the commission with a great deal of discretion about various aspects of the project.

The commission’s approval of the amended master plan adds six adjacent properties to the zone including the Stop & Shop grocery store property at 91 Voluntown Road, an abandoned single-family home at 3 Voluntown Road, and four additional vacant properties, and will allow the demolition of the movie theater and the Berkshire Bank building.

The Stop & Shop supermarket and McDonald’s restaurant will remain, and the bank will be relocated to a mixed-use building planned for the property.

The site plan approval will also allow the initial construction to begin on three, 36-unit apartment buildings, one mixed-use residential building, a clubhouse and three stand alone garage structures with eight bays each.

At the commission meeting on Tuesday, representatives for the developer showed updated site plans that reorient one of the residential buildings to allow better stormwater drainage as well as a central park area that could contain a playground, dog park or other amenities.

The amended site plan also shows a sidewalk ringing the property and a denser landscape screen between Route 2 and an eight-unit garage structure that backs up along the major thoroughfare.

The developer addressed concerns about stormwater management previously raised by the commission through preliminary soil testing, assuring the commission it will undertake extensive testing prior to the next phase of the project, and address any concerns raised by the town engineer.

The developer has agreed to seek financing through Build4CT, a program of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, which would require at least 20% of the 232 units eventually planned for the site be set aside as affordable to a single person making $63,000 a year or less (or a higher salary for larger families).

Construction is anticipated to begin later this year, with the first units completed within 18 months.

Norwich building committee hopes to avoid referendum on increased school project cost

Claire Bessette

Norwich ― The School Building Committee has work to do to get answers by early September on whether a new referendum is needed to change the price of the school construction project.

The City Council on Monday referred two competing proposed referendum questions ― one to raise the price to meet new $435 million cost estimate and one to reduce the project to $342 million ― to the building committee. The committee must vote to forward a recommendation to the Board of Educaton and the City Council.

But on Tuesday, the building committee heard some encouraging updates to student enrollment projections and possible other changes to keep the entire project within the $385 million total approved by voters in 2022.

Chairman Mark Bettencourt said the committee will hire a demographics statistics expert to confirm enrollment projections that show the John Moriarty and Uncas schools, can be reduced from 600 students to about 541 students. Bettencourt said that would save significantly on construction costs.

Bigger savings are projected for the plan either to overhaul and expand the current Teachers’ Memorial Middle School or build a new middle school on that property. The inital projection put the renovation and expansion at $99 million.

No updated cost estimates are yet available, but Bettencourt said if enrollment estimates are lower, the expansion could be smaller. Bettencourt believes building a new middle school is preferable but would be more costly.

Bettencourt said cutting the final portion of the project, renovations to the Samuel Huntington School to house central offices and adult education, also could help to keep the project within the original referendum total. Instead of the planned $25 million renovation, it could be downsized.

“The school can be easily converted to adult ed, and it wouldn’t cost that much for offices,” Bettencourt said.

The School Building Committee likely will need a special meeting in August to review new information and provide a recommendation to the City Council.

The council is scheduled to hold public hearings on both potential referendum questions Aug. 19. If a new referendum is needed, the council must approve a ballot question by Sept. 3.

What will happen downtown if suggestions from Norwich mobility study are implemented?

Matt Grahn

If the city follows its consultant's recommendation, the bridges on West Main Street and West Side Boulevard will become two-way.

The recommendation is part of a mobility study being conducted by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. to improve pedestrian and bicyclist conditions in the city.

Senior Transportation Planner Dan Amstutz of VHB told the City Council that the final plan will presented in the fall.

The mobility study was first presented in March to the City Council.

The bridges

There are three options proposed for the West Main Street and West Side Boulevard bridges. The first plan featured the West Main Street bridge becoming two way, and the West Side Boulevard bridge becoming a pedestrian friendly “Bridge of Roses.” The second plan relegated the pedestrian only area on West Main Street, cutting off traffic after the entrances to Thayer’s Marine and the marina. The third option converts both bridges to two-way traffic.

All three options included a public art wall, cutting off North Thames Street with a cul-de-sac, and the creation of open space which could be used as a park, and fewer lanes of traffic, the March presentation stated.

Option 3 has three roundabouts, at Washington St., Washington Square, and W. Main St. and North Thames St. There would still be room for bike lanes on the bridge. The bike lane continues through downtown.

The potential loss of state resources for bridge maintenance if the bridges were converted to pedestrian only is a motivating factor to choose option 3, Amstutz said.

Elsewhere in downtown

In downtown itself, many of the prior suggestions are maintained. For the east of downtown, this includes narrowing the Cliff Street intersection, a curb extension on Main Street by the old YMCA, and a right turning lane on Viaduct Street.

In the center of downtown, Broadway would be reduced to one lane and have angled parking. Bath St. would become two way. The intersection of Franklin Street and Boswell Avenue would be turned into a four-way stop, and have a pedestrian plaza with trees.

Chelsea Harbor Drive would have a signal at Market and Water St., Water St. becomes two way, and Chelsea Harbor Drive becomes one-way, with fewer lanes and a bike lane so it becomes “a part of the park,” Amstutz said.